Will New Bears’ OC Declan Doyle Prove To Be Ben Johnson, 2.0?

Ben Johnson must see some of himself in Declan Doyle.

At about the same time the same time the Raiders named 74-year-old Pete Carroll as head coach, the Bears’ Johnson hired Doyle as his offensive coordinator. Their ages don’t add up to equal Carroll’s.

Johnson turned to Doyle after the Lions’ offensive coordinator Hank Fraley returned to Detroit with a raise and a new title and he decided to pass on both former Stanford coach David Shaw and Thomas Brown, who served as interim head coach after Chicago fired Matt Eberflus.

But given that the Bears ownership is apparently giving Johnson more resources and input than his recent predecessors, he could have kept the search open to land someone with decades of NFL experience.

The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs reports the Bears also interviewed Titans quarterback coach Bo Hardegree and Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolford. But Johnson wanted Doyle, in part due to a likely recommendation from Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

Doyle, 28, coached the Broncos’ tight ends under Sean Payton the last two seasons. Before that he spent four years as an offensive assistant for the Saints — where he worked alongside Campbell in 2019 and ’20 — and three as a student assistant at the University of Iowa. He’s believed to be the youngest coordinator in the NFL.

The Bears currently have 12 players older than their new offensive coordinator. He has never run an NFL meeting but is being put in charge of the offense that will be built around Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in last year’s draft.

He’s a surprising choice, for sure, but perhaps an inspired one as well. Greg Gabriel, a long-time NFL scout, calls Doyle a whiz kid and said on X he wouldn’t be surprised if Doyle is being interviewed for head coaching jobs in two or three years.

Expect more praise for Doyle to come in this week from Payton and other NFL coaches who are currently at the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl, scouting draft talent.

Doyle was officially named to his position on Tuesday, when Dennis Allen and Richard Hightower were named as the defensive and special teams coordinator, respectively. They may have already been out scouting alongside Johnson.

Johnson, 38, has spent six seasons with the Lions, including three as Campbell’s offensive coordinator. Detroit ranked in the top five in offense each of those three seasons, finishing as the No. 1 offense in 2024.

Johnson had previously said he plans to remain as a play-caller while serving as head coach. That will lessen the game-day load on Doyle but he’s inheriting a huge responsibility, with the immediate priority the upgrading of the offensive line. The Bears have indicated they won’t re-hire Chris Morgan as offensive line coach but reman in the interview process.